Legend of Dragoon Recreation
by TriciaKurosawa
Summary: Two hundred years have passed since the Legend, but trouble still calls in the land of Endiness. This story follows a Human girl, a Wingly boy, a mysterious traveler, and others on an epic adventure like no other.
1. Prolouge

Legend of Dragoon

**Recreation**

Introduction

It is at the break of dawn, and I see myself in familiar, quiet woods. Actually, the trees seem taller than me than they usually were. The only light was coming from behind me. Since wary shadows were flickering from one spot to another (the light source was probably far back), the light was fire.

I felt my eyes burning as tears were rolling down my cheeks. For some reason, I was being a klutz, tripping five times per second.

I was running. Running. Why?

After one final trip, I crawled into a hollow log – lying on the side of the road – all the way to the end. I crouched, wrapping my arms around my legs. (My hands and legs were very small.) Suddenly, I heard a stick snap outside. I winced and kept quiet. With a quick glance, I saw outside the log a shadow of a person with a sword… No, not a person. I buried my head into my arms, trying to stop crying.

Warmth. I suddenly felt warmth on my skin.

I looked up, finding that the sun has fully come up. The shadow wasn't there, either. I crawled out slowly, making sure the coast is clear. Wait, why am I doing that? I peeked to the side of the log, and guess what I see? Nothing but a boy of age six that was fully nude. He just stared at me. My control less body raised its hand, but when it did, the boy jumped up and ran away fast.

"Wait!" my no-controlled body said as it tried getting up, but failed to attempt. My arm rested on the log. "I don't wanna be alone," my body continued (my voice was even a bit squeaky). After a sniff, I said, "Mommy… Daddy… No…" I burst out, "NOO!!"

I woke up, eyes shooting open. I tried gasping for air. After I calmed, I found myself lying against a tree. The dream, I thought, was my past. The dream was what happened thirteen years ago.


	2. Chapter 1: Bad Day

Legend of Dragoon

Legend of Dragoon

**Recreation**

Chapter 1: Bad Day

Avrin

I'm outside on a forest road to Bale, doing my business, till suddenly, I was being chased by Basil soldiers. So here I am, running for dear life from guys with sharpened spears. Weapons, which I didn't have with me right now.

"Aww!" I said to the soldiers with absolute no direct eye contact. "I didn't know goin' in the woods was illegal!" Yes, I did do that. That's what I meant by business.

"Return the jewel, thief!" I heard one of the soldiers say behind me.

"Yes!" the other one said. "Return His Majesty's jewel!"

"Great," I muttered to myself. "I'm being framed. What else could go wrong?" Suddenly, I bumped into something. Or someone. I looked up and there was a soldier twice my size. I sighed, "Well, ain't that just gre-"

All in an instant, the giant soldier picked me up by the leg. I tried kicking him, struggling to get out of his grip, screaming, "H-hey! Let me go!" but it was no use. (Thank God for skorts!!)

As the other two soldiers caught up, one of them said, "Good job. Let's take her back to the castle." I just crossed my arms, giving a slight growl of my rage. I mean, I didn't do anything, right?

As we entered the castle, I was still yapping and kicking, which still was of no use. I heard one of the soldiers call the giant up the stairs. But I didn't hesitate. I was still fighting my way out. Just like how a child would still be playing with its toys, even when there was a burglar standing there.

When we reached the throne room, the last thing I was shouting was, "This is child abuse, I tell you! Child abuse!" – pause – "Forget child. This is female abuse!"

I heard the King, behind the wall in front of me, say, "Let her go." As commanded, the giant had dropped me right on the ground.

"Hey! Watch it!" I warned the giant. It's amazing that the giant had all this strength – picking me up by one foot – and he looks as though he was as strong as his other two skinny, short soldier friends. I looked up at the King. All that I saw of him was his crown that was embroided with many gems and his sweaty, sticky-looking forehead.

The King raised his hand, decorated with a silvery-white silk glove and a jade green sleeve, and commanded so softly, "Leave us in peace, if you may." As ordered to, all three soldiers did their salutes and "Sir"s and they left.

I stood up, dusting myself off, and said, "Ok, lets make this quick. Whatever I took, I didn't take it, okay?" I looked at him, and I saw more of his body – all the way down to his hips. He wore a forest green cape around the jade green shirt, silky gloves on each hands, beige pants, and on his face… he was just starting to put on a smirk.

Confused, I asked, "What? Something funny I said?" He just shook his head, but his smile never faded away. "…okay?"

He looked down to his feet – no, his right palm – and said to himself silently, "So, it really is her, hmm?"

It was silent for a moment. Then I wanted to slap myself. "Get to the point, Avrin," I thought. Then I said, "Uhh… Mr. King… sir? I'm gonna… you know… leave." I turned around and started to leave. He didn't stop me, so he was probably okay with it. "That was weird," I said to myself after I was out of his ear range.

Back on the road that I was on, I noted to myself to never visit any royalty-ness ever again. Suddenly, I felt a thud on my head. "Hey!" I shouted, turning around to see who threw whatever at me. "Watch-" No one was there. I looked down on the ground and saw a blue-white sphere gem. I picked it up, examining it. Whoever threw it at me, I'm going to thank them to death when I meet them. I continued walking away from Bale.

Here I am, in Limestone Cave. A place that's surely full of monsters. I went through here only once – without my weapon – and I barely made it out alive. "Ok, Avrin," I told myself nervously, "you made it through once, you can do it again. Hehe, he…" Suddenly, I heard a ferocious roar. I got creeped out a little. "Now what?" I looked up ahead and saw a giant millipede. "Great…" I muttered.

I also saw a guy fighting the giant bug with a great sword. He jumped to attack it, but he got hit really badly. After hitting the ground, it seemed from my point of view that he was unconscious. The millipede raised its head, beginning the final blow.

I sort of panicked. I looked on the ground for anything to throw at the monster. I remembered my new-founded gem. I charged my throwing arm and ZOOM! it went and hit the Millipede on the head. It shook its head, trying to figure out what happened. I felt pride or something because I slightly gave a chuckle. Suddenly, the millipede looked right at me. I suddenly became paralyzed and mouthed, "Crap…" It was coming right at me. I still couldn't move. When I realized it was a lot closer, I felt like I was going to pee right there.

But he got there first. The guy that was attacked by the bug.

He grabbed me around the waist with his free hand and jumped just as the millipede began to strike. He and I landed right on its head. With a powerful blow, the guy drove his sword into the creature's head. He twisted the sword, pulled it out, and jumped off. Slowly, the monster fell to its side and laid there stiff.

Probably don't want to mess with this guy.

After he lowered his guard, I tapped his navy blue metal shoulder pad. He turned his head and glared at me. He had white hair and deep blue eyes that seem to have a dark story behind them… Well, at least one eye was hidden with his hair.

"You can let go now," I said, pointing at his hand that was still on my waist.

He let go, and he said in a dark voice, "Sorry." He started to walk off.

"Wait!" I called. "What's your name?"

He stopped walking and said, his back to my face, "My name is of no importance."

Before he started taking off again, I said, "C'mon! It won't kill anyone, will it?" All he did was glare at me, as if I was getting on his nerves. I sighed, "Ok, I'll start off. I'm Avrin. Now your turn."

It was silent for a while. Then, he closed his eyes – as if giving up – and answered, "Enga."

"Enga, huh? Cool name," I said. For some reason, I have a thing of asking people lots of questions when they do a good thing, like saving my life from a giant bug. "Hmm… Oh, yeah! What's-" I stopped. He was gone. "E-Enga? Where'd you go?" There was silence. "Well, that's crap."

I remembered throwing my gem at the monster, so I walked over to pick it up. After looking around one more time, I continued leaving the cave.

Finally, in a different part of the country, I made it out to the other side.

"Yay, Avrin!" I cheered to myself.

I went behind a tree to pick up my kusari-gama, my special weapon. Then, I saw a round dent in the handle. It made me think of an idea. I took out my gem and placed it in the dent. It fits perfectly.

"There we go!"

On the side of my skort dress was a hook, where I always put my kusari-gama at. After I hooked my trustful weapon against my hip, I continued walking.

Not-that-far later, I started hearing footsteps ahead of me approaching. Just in case it was a monster, I got ready to unbuckle the hook on my hip to take out my kusari-gama.

Finally, the thing up ahead was in view. It wasn't a monster, thank God, but it was a little-odd guy. As he ran by me, I heard him cursing, "Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap…"

As I watched the guy run, I said to myself, "What's his problem?"

All of a sudden, I heard someone behind me say, "Hello, Avrin."

I turned around to see who knew me. I saw who.

Warven.

"Avrin," he started, "you still look as beautiful as ever."

"And you still look like a crazy, psychopathic crap-face, Warven," I struck back.

"Ooh," he said. "Still spicy, too."

"What are you up to?"

"Well, I was after a thief, but…" He looked to the left and right of me, then licked his lips. "You can pay for what I lost."

"Hmph. I'd rather sink to the bottom of the ocean than be your dinner show."

"Very well." He waved his arm in the air to signal the four other men behind him that it was time to strike.

As soon as I unbuckled the hook, the four came charging right at me. In a hurry, I dodged. They took me by surprise. One of them tripped me, so I collapsed face-down in the cold dirt. As I was struggling to get up, another one harshly pinned me down to the ground. I screamed in pain. I tried kicking the guy, but two others pinned my feet down. I saw the last guy moved my moved my weapon away with his foot and pinned it down, too.

I was trapped.

Warven came down face-to-face with me and said, "Having fun, yet?"

I grunted. I just wanted to rip his spinal cord out so he'd never be able to roam again.

Suddenly, I heard the tree above us shake. Warven did, too. He looked up, and what was next wasn't what he expected to hit him. Literally. Someone fell from the tree and landed right on Warven's face. As Warven was screaming in pain, this person jumped over the guy standing on my back. He probably landed on the two guys on my legs, because I felt them shake. I heard the guy who stood on my weapon get hit and fall back. The person kicked the guy on my back onto Warven. I didn't see what happened next, but I heard the two on my legs get hit and fell to the side. I looked back. It was the cursing guy from earlier.

He ran up to me, grabbed my arm, and commanded, "Come on!"

I picked up my weapon with my free hand, got up, and we ran.


	3. Chapter 2: Old Rivals?

Legend of Dragoon

Legend of Dragoon

**Recreation**

Chapter 2 : Old Rivals?

Zylup

When the fire started, I went to go get more wood. I walked up to the fire, holding the wood, and threw it all I into it.

"Eh, that should be fine," I stated, "for now."

As I sat down, the girl started asking questions. "So, where'd you live? When were you born? Do you have a mom? A dad? What are their names? How 'bout any siblings?"

Five minutes later, she continued, "What's your favorite color? Do you even have a favorite color?"

Fifteen minutes later, and she was starting to get on my nerves. "What's your favorite food? Are you a virgin-"

"SHUT UP ALREADY!!" I shouted to the top of my lungs. I heard many birds around us fly away. After I tried catching my breath, I grunted and said, "Why are you even asking these questions?"

"Because," I heard her start, her voice a lot softer, "you saved me."

I just laughed and said, "You're the one that saved my ass in the first place."

"But," she replied, "what they could've done to me would be a lot worse than what they'd do to you."

"Yeah," I muttered, rolling my eyes, "I figured."

It was silent for a moment, until she added, "Besides, I only saved you by accident." I just sat on my own spare log. All I heard now was the fire crackling and the girl's finger tapping rapidly on her log.

Oh, yeah! My name," she popped up. "I'm Avrin. What's your name?"

My name. It's been forever since someone ever asked for my name. I just looked at her and slowly answered, "…It's Zylup."

After a moment, Avrin chuckled, "Wow, didn't I have a day? I get saved twice today. One, by you. The other, by that other guy, Enga."

My eyes shot open. I looked right at her and demanded, "Who!?"

Avrin looked at me curiously and recalled, "Enga. Why?"

Suddenly, somewhere behind Avrin, something – or someone – was moving in the woods. Avrin and I shot our focus right at the sound.

Out of nowhere, a figure appeared and demanded, "Who knows my name?"

Oh, God. Didn't I know that voice anywhere?

"Oh," he said, "just you two…"

It was Enga.

Avrin turned completely around and said cheerfully, "Enga!"

My hand clenched tightly on my dagger.

Overlooking the rest of the forestland seven hundred feet below, I stood to the right of Enga. God, that son-of-a-bitch, thinking he's so cool.

"So," I brought out of nowhere, "you met Avrin before?"

Slowly, he replied, "…In a way."

"Heh. Same here."

It was silent again.

I brought up again, "She saved your ass, too?"

He was silent. Probably flushing of embarrassment.

"Heh," I continued, "it's just funny; who would save you?"

He suddenly changed the topic, saying, "I didn't make your brother the way he is now."

I gagged. All the memories came rushing back in.

"Heh," I said, "I'd love to believe that…"

The memories were shown as pictures – pictures I can never forget. My brother treating that freak like he was his own younger brother. How I just eavesdropped and ran off, crying.

I clenched my fist. "You have no idea. It's all your fault!" At that instant, I punched Enga right in the face. He nearly fell to the ground.

Suddenly, a tree ten feet behind us rattled. We both looked at the tree. I walked up to it slowly, only to hear someone chant:

"Please don't catch me, please oh please? Please don't catch me, please-"

"I can hear you from here," I interrupted.

"…Oh…" Slowly, the person climbed down the tree. Already from the feet to the hips, could I tell it was Avrin.

"What are you doing?" I said.

After she landed, Avrin replied, "Watching him." She pointed at Enga.

"Why?" I said.

"So he won't disappear again," she said.

I just laughed and said, "Well, I'd like him to abra-kadabra out of here!" I stormed back to the campsite.

"Z-Zylup!" I heard Avrin call behind me, but I wasn't going to listen. I sat on my log, watching the flames of the fire flicker.

In half a minute later, I saw Avrin (dragging Enga) coming towards me. Slightly freaked out, I said, "What do you want?"

"I understand we have a few problems on our hands," she began, "but we can settle this." She sat Enga to the right of me. I was about to get up to leave, but she pinned me down while sitting between us. I glared. So did Enga.

"Ok," she began, "now let's tell each other what's good and bad about one another." I laughed at the idea. "It's that or campfire songs," she warned. I shutted up, glaring out in the woods. "Ok, I'll start first," she stated. She looked back and forth at me and Enga. "Well… You're both good people, and…" I interrupted with a snort. "Shut up!" she commanded. I did so. "And," she continued, "…you're both cool, yeah…" She looked at me and said, "Your turn!" I just glared at her. "…Ok," Avrin said, "well, you know what? Maybe we all need a good night's rest." She slapped her hands together. She walked over to the other log and sat against it, arms crossed. "Good night!" Avrin said, but she just stared at us.

Feeling either amused or annoyed, I said, "Do you sleep with your eyes open or something?"

"Just making sure you two don't run away," she replied.

"This is going to be a long night," I heard Enga mutter.

I was asleep. I kept on dreaming about my brother. I don't know why, but it was hurting my head. It hurt even worse when something hit my head. I shot myself up, shook my head, and saw that Enga was looking at me from the other log.

"H-Hey!" I shouted.

"She's gone," Enga said.

"Huh?" I scoot myself to a comfortable position.

"The girl. She's gone."

"Avrin?" I asked. "Why would she leave? She stayed up just to make sure we didn't."

"That's what I want to know," Enga said, sniffing the air. He stood up, walked over to my log, and picked up a leaf. As I got up, I noticed that the leaf wasn't only green.

It was dark red.

"Is it…" I began.

"No," Enga said, examining the leaf, "it's not her blood." He lifts his head, sniffing the air. He dropped the leaf. "But that's where she's heading."

Immediately, I walked over to the other log and put on my belt, sliding my dagger into its sheath on the side of the belt. "Let's go," I said.

Enga nodded. Then he ran, chasing the scent. I followed.

Avrin

I walked into the warehouse, being very cautious. I couldn't understand why he left us alive. That's what I wondered at first, until when I found my gem missing and the leaf.

Must've already been full to kill us.

Scanning the area, I walked very slowly. I gripped the handle of my kusari-gama real tight. Suddenly, I heard a faint clank, silently bouncing off all the walls. I stopped walking. There was silence.

"Show yourself, Warven!" I shouted.

After hearing my voice echo, I heard footsteps from above. I shot my head up. There he was; one floor above me.

"Avrin," Warven said, "so glad for you to come." He took a bite of the giant drumstick thing that was in his hand.

"Shut up," I demanded. "Just give me what's mine, now."

"Oh, sure," he announced, "but first, you gotta deliver us lunch."

"Heh," I gave a not-so-nice smirk. I raised my weapon. "No, thanks."

Warven sighed and said, kicking the rail twice, "Well, my mother never said I shouldn't play with my food."

At that moment, his minion friends came out of a door in front of me. They were strong, yes. But I was ready.

At that moment, I threw my kusari-gama like a boomerang behind the first two. I yanked it back, tripping the two guys. I immediately ran over, jumping on the twosomes' backs. I heard them grunt, but I didn't stop there. I swung my kusari-gama around my head, making it hit the other two guys. After they fell back, I swung the kusari-gama to the left and right of me, hitting the two guys on my feet. I jumped off, watching all four of them struggle to get up. Obliviation. Yeah, I know.

I suddenly heard clapping. I looked up, seeing Warven clapping.

"Excellent," he said, amused, "excellent, indeed."

I softly growled in anger.

Suddenly, behind me, I heard someone come in and say, "Avrin!"

Zylup

Enga and I ran in.

"Avrin!" I called. I saw her with her weapon, standing before what looked like was a massacre. Did she kill all these guys by herself? (What do you know? – Not only does she ask too many questions, but also kills like a serial killer.)

She turned and saw us, then said, "Guys?"

I looked up and saw the guy from yesterday, laughing. Then he said with oh-so much joy, "You've even brought the other two meat! Thank you, Avrin!"

Meat? I looked at Avrin and asked, "Avrin? What's he talking about?"

She looked back, first down, then up at the guy. "He's…" she began. I looked at him too, seeing him taking a bite out of his meat. Meat. She turned around, looking at Enga and I, and said, "He's a cannibal."

I gagged. For a second, it was like I couldn't breath.

"Well, thank you for introducing me, Avrin," he said, "'but I must finish up my meal, now." The guy jumped down. Right when he did, the corpses on the ground began to twitch. All so suddenly, the dead bodies' wounds were healing.

"God," I whispered. The things were coming back to life.

"You used the Art of Puppetry," Enga so-suddenly said, "to bring the corpse, that you once ate, leftover to create your own minions."

"You catch on well, my friend," the guy said. "Now…" He looked at Avrin. "It is time to feast."

When I realized what was about to happen, my eyes snapped open. "Av-" I was interrupted when the four zombie men appeared in front of us. "Now," the guy said, licking his lips, "let's dig in."

Avrin

I gulped. I've been in this situation before. This is only a replay.

Enga and Zylup were in a sticky situation as I was. This was because of all but one stupid gem. For some reason, I felt attached to it. Maybe that's why Warven stole it. Like a fish biting the bait.

Immediately, I charged right at him, ready to attack. Before the blade of my kusari-gama got near his face, Warven grabbed it with both of his hands. His hands started bleeding. I kicked his hands out of the way with my right foot. The kick left me spinning halfway. I put my hands in front of me as I fell to the ground. I kicked my left foot to hit Warven, but I missed because he jumped. I rolled out of the way before he could land on me, and – eventually – I rolled up on my feet.

Besides having cannibalism, Warven also has brutal strength. That's why it's hard to kill him.

I threw my kusari-gama, but he jumped and landed on it. He started running towards me. I expected him to just run up and eat my face off. Instead, he grabbed the chain of my kusari-gama and started running around me, around me, around me…

He was tying me up.

Before I even had a chance to react, it was already too late.

Zylup

Slash. Slash. Dodge. Stab. No matter how many times we attacked them, they kept coming back to life. They kept blocking our way.

Suddenly, they stopped. They just looked at us, appearing absent-minded. I looked straight forward, seeing why they stopped.

That guy had Avrin. She was wrapped around her upper body with chain. Her eyes were wide open, filled with fear. They guy's head was next to hers, hands on her shoulders. I gripped my dagger tightly.

"Hmm," the guy began, looking at Avrin's ear, "whaddya say, boys? Rare," – he looked at us – "or well done?" He looked back at Avrin. "As for me, I prefer mine raw."

Suddenly, Avrin jerked out, "Don't listen to him! He's just trying to lure both of you, too!"

Okay, this was really starting to get on my nerves. But I couldn't just expect to grab and pull her away without losing her ear. Maybe I can –

Suddenly, Enga is behind the guy and stabs him in the back. Don't ask how, he just did.

At first, the guy's eyes were wide open from shock. Then he fell to the ground. Avrin scooted to the side so she wouldn't be tumbled on. She looked down at the dead guy, then at Enga, then back, and so forth.

"I could've done that," Avrin blurted out.

After she got the chain off (which I realized was her weapon), she bended down and searched the dead body. While she was doing that, I looked back at the minion guys. They were dead too. Dead-dead.

"Kill the puppeteer," I whispered, "and the show's over."

If I never met Avrin, the same fate would've happened to her.

As we left, I noticed that the last face that the dead guy made on his face was a smirk, as though he had triumphed. Triumphed in what?


	4. Chapter 3: TeamworkNew Aura

Legend of Dragoon

Chapter 3 : Teamwork/New Aura

Enga

Four weeks after that last battle, and I end up traveling with Zylup and the girl. We were just walking nowhere, no destination.

Zylup was just relaxing, chewing on a piece of grass. The girl was smiling, just trotting along happily. Me? I was too... in a way.

Suddenly, the girl started laughing.

Zylup eyed her, then said, "What?"

After laughing, the girl replied, "Even though I have to separate you two, you're both getting along great."

Zylup gagged (his grass falling out of his mouth), "What!? I'm not getting along with him! I'm really aggravated with him!"

"Like hell?" the girl added.

Zylup glared at her suspiciously and agreed, "Yeah, like hell."

"Good," she said. (Zylup nearly tripped after that.) "At least you don't hate each other."

Zylup and I just looked at her, surprised.

Suddenly, I heard a loud, ferocious growl. Actually, it didn't sound like a fiend or anything. It sounded like it came from the girl.

"Hehe..." the girl chuckled nervously.

Zylup was glaring at her. "You. Didn't. Eat?"

"I was busy," was her excuse.

"She was like that all week," I muttered. It was true.

"I was busy all week," she said.

"With what?" Zylup blurted out.

"Well... um..." The girl flickered her eyes back and forth on the ground. Suddenly, she fell flat on her face.

After a moment, Zylup said, "What just happened?"

"Don't ask," I answered.

Zylup bend down and felt the girl's forehead. "She does have a little fever," he said.

"Hmph," I said, "I never knew you were a doctor."

Zylup just glared at me and muttered, "Shut up." He picked up the girl's arm and said, "C'mon, help me out here."

As directed to, I walked up to the other side of the girl and picked her arm up. Zylup put one arm over his shoulders. I did the same with the other arm.

As we walked, Zylup just said, "Heh, I wouldn't be too busy to not eat."

"Who would blame you?" I muttered.

Zylup glared at me and, once again, said, "Shut up."

I looked up, feeling a cold shelter nearby. "There's a cave up ahead," I said.

Zylup looked ahead too, then said, "Yeah, I think I can see that."

Sarcasm. Never understood it. Never will.

"We'll stay the night there," I continued.

"Yes," Zylup said, "O, Fearless Leader." He rolled his eyes.

--

In the cave was where the girl was sleeping. At least, she was supposed to be.

She was fiddling with something, when suddenly, Zylup popped in front of her and yelled, "Ha! Caught'ya in the act!"

The girl stuttered, "I can explain!"

"Yep," Zylup said, grinning, "you will."

"I will," she continued, "outside."

Zylup thought for a bit, then said, "Nope. Right here's fine."

"I still need to finish it," the girl said, this time a little agitated, "so outside!!"

After that shout-out, it was silent. Then, Zylup started leaving.

I was leaning against the entrance of the cave the whole time. With arms crossed and eyes closed, I said, "Hmph. You sure got on her nerv-"

"Shut up," Zylup interupted, no eye contact.

--

Fifteen minutes later, and we were waiting around the campfire, still waiting for the girl to come out.

"Hmph, women," I heard Zylup mutter.

Suddenly, the girl finally came out. She was hiding something behind her back.

"Ok," Zylup said, "spit it out."

"Well," the girl began, "over the past few days, I've been working on this." She then showed what was behind her back. It was like a bracelet made out of grass.

"What the hell is that?" Zylup blurted out.

"It's a Trilet," the girl replied.

A Trilet? I agree with Zylup. "What?"

"Here," she said, walking between us. She grabbed our hands and put them on the "Trilet."

"Uh...?" Zylup began, confused, until the girl said:

"I officially declare us a team. And since we're a team, we got to stick together. That's what the Trilet represents."

There was silence. We just looked at her.

Suddenly, the girl jumped up, blurting out, "Well, I'm tired! Zylup, you're in charge of hanging on to it."

When Zylup realized he was the only one holding the Trilet, he gagged, "I have to hang on to this crap!?"

"Yep," the girl said, walking away. "Night!"

Zylup was about to get up, but she already went into the cave.

Zylup muttered, "I gotta hang onto this stupid thing." He threw his arms up. "That's just great!"

I suppose that was sarcasm.

--

One hour later, everything still looked the same. The campfire was still going, half of the Moon showed, the forest-

The forest.

I got up, walked over, and woke Zylup up.

He saw me gripping my sword. "What is it?"

"Do you hear that?" I said, studying the forest.

"I don't hear anything," Zylup said, annoyed.

"Exactly," I said.

By the speeding of the blood flowing through his veins, I could tell that Zylup froze. He grabbed the hilt of his dagger slowly. I sniffed the air. An unknown odor was nearby. I turned my head slowly, following the scent. I pinpointed the location, but-

"What's going on?" the girl came out, yawning.

I stepped forward and yelled, "No! Don't-"

Too late.

The intruder fell behind the girl and grabbed her head. In a flash, he pulled the back of her head right into the ground.

"Avrin!" Zylup shouted, fully stood up, dagger out.

The girl tried breathing, but the intruder's humongous hand covered her whole head. The intruder grinned. As he stood up, picking the girl up by the head, he revealed he was about seven to eight feet tall. His feet were twice the size of his hands. His muscles looked as if he stored a handful (his hand) of rocks. His teeth were whitish-grayish, but they glowed a mystic blue. His red eyes glowed just like his hair. His skin was all tan. He wore a fading, white tank top with ripped-up jeans, heavy-armored boots and garmets, and a light scarf with a symbol that I knew too well on it.

"Wes," I said.

He laughed and spoke as if he had two voices, "Long time, no see, Enga. You too, Zylup."

"Dammit," Zylup grunted. "I thought you were dead?"

After another laugh, Wes said, "Well, it seems your brother doesn't want me gone yet."

Zylup grunted, eyes wide.

The girl was still kicking her legs wildly, trying to make the hand let go.

"You brother wants to see her," Wes said, addressing to Zylup.

"Let her - see him?" Zylup said, dagger raised higher. "Over my dead body."

The girl's kicking began slowing down. Her struggle was getting weaker.

We had no choice. We had to fight.

Zylup

Out of all people, he had to bring this idiot. Those glowing teeth get on my nerves every time I see them. I know for sure it isn't a Giganto trait.

Instantly, Enga charged right at Wes, with me right behind him. Wes hit Enga with his free hand. Since I was coming up and he was still hitting Enga, Wes had no choice but to hit me with Avrin. He accidentally let go of Avrin's head. As I jumped back to dodge, she fell on me and we both fell back.

"Thanks," Avrin gasped, pushing herself up.

She was sitting on my liver or something, so I couldn't make an angry comeback.

When Wes roared, I shot my head up to see what was going on. Wes and Enga were in a deep battle.

Since we landed near the cave, Avrin zoomed to go get her weapon. She held out her left hand to me. I nodded and grabbed her hand. She pulled me up and we ran into combat.

Enga

Wes was a tougher opponent than I had expected. It seemed as though he has gotten a lot stronger. Although, I haven't fought him in a while. I probably just forgot his strength. Then Zylup and the girl ran up next to me. I nodded to them and looked right at Wes, who's laughing evilly, veins visible through the neck and arms. We attacked. Zylup juped off Wes' chest while slashing his arm. The girl tried tying up Wes with her weapon, letting Zylup kick him again. Through all of the distraction, I got the perfect opportunity to sneak behind him and got ready to strike. Unfortunately, Wes began to get really aggravated. He roared while grabbing the chains of the girl's weapon, threw her against the cave walls, and kicked Zylup in the opposite direction. He noticed me behind him, so he hit me hard. I hit some rocks. I noticed that when he hit me, he hit my pressure points, which left my legs stunned.

"Enga!" the girl yelled, running over to where I sat. She looked at my legs, as if knowing what the problem was. "Don't worry. I know how to take care of this." While she was treating my legs, she kept an eye on the battle between Zylup and Wes.

Zylup

Man. When did Wes get so tough? He's probably taking steroids. Then again, his muscles can't get any bigger. Maybe I can get Avrin to do that question thing of her's.

Wait. Where is Avrin? And Enga?

I looked around. She's up ahead, by the cave, doing something to Enga. Wait. You don't think she's-

BAM! Wes hit me and I flew twenty feet back. As I struggled to get up, Wes took one hand and grabbed both my legs. He threw me again, this time, against a tree. I began bleeding somewhere on my head. Wes didn't stop there. He grabbed me around my waist and began to crush me.

"Don't worry," Wes said, laughing, "I'll tell your brother you said hi."

"Zylup!" I heard Avrin scream. Man, wasn't she a screamer? Too bad I won't be able to tell her that.

Enga

The girl kept on crying Zylup's name. She did it, as though it would save his life.

"He's done for," I said.

The girl looked at me with shock. Then she looked down. Suddenly, her heart began pounding faster. Her brain was collecting knowledge faster. Her muscles grew tighter.

She stood up, now looking at Wes and Zylup, and whispered, "No." She shouted, "I'm not letting a team mate die!"

Instantly, the wind began spinning around her like a twister. This was strange. There was a new aura present. I noticed a jewel on her weapon was glowing a sky blue color. What is going on? I thought. What is this magic? Then the girl wasn't visible anymore, as if the wind had become fully solid. The Moon's light shined down on her.

I saw her weapon going towards Wes. It wrapped around his arm. Grinning, Wes let go of Zylup, turned around and said, "Want more, girl?" His expression changed to surprise by what he saw.

Instead of a puny, helpless girl, he saw this person with wings, magic armor, and a face of a girl who's instinct was to fight. I was surprised, myself.

She charged (flying) right at Wes and before he could dodge, she pulled the chains of her weapon. The chains were pushing through Wes' skin. He screamed in pain.

"Get off, you pest!" he began, but when he saw her, her eyes were up close. Her eyes were not what she had before.

Wes smirked, then muttered, "So, you're one of them, huh?" He paused, then grinned, "You don't know yet, do you?" He took some of the chains, pinned them to the ground, and took the chains off his arm. He retreated.

I looked at Zylup. He seemed surprised.

"... Avrin?" Zylup began. "What-"

Suddenly, the girl glowed bright blue again. When it disappeared, she was back in her normal appearance. Her legs were trembling. Her breathing became harsh. She was gripping her stomach with her left hand.

She looked up at Zylup, then said, "You're okay. I'm... glad..." The girl lost her footing.

"Woah!" Zylup caught her before she fell flat on her face. (It must have been very painful for him, in the state that he's in.) He felt her forehead, then said, "Heh. It's that fever again."

He picked the girl up and put her arm around his shoulders.

As he began dragging her towards the cave, Zylup stopped and asked me, "Do you have any idea what that was?"

I shook my head, then said, "You better start a campfire inside."

Zylup slightly chuckled, then said, "What? You're gonng sleep out here?"

"I suppose I will," I said.

Zylup first glared at me, raising an eyebrow, and then continued going into the cave. I just layed my head back and looked at the stars.

--

"Is he dead?" I heard someone say, I saw it was the girl. Apparently, she thought I slept with my eyes open.

"Hello?" she continued, waving her hand in front of my face.

Out of nowhere, I muttered, "Hi."

The girl began falling back, yelling, "Woah!" After falling, she pushed herself back up, began rubbing her head, and said, "Hey!"

Gradually, Zylup laughed out loud.

"It's not funny!" the girl yelled, but Zylup was still laughing. Eventually, the girl began laughing, too.

As she stood up, the girl said, "Let's go!"

"Where?" I said, in my same position.

Slowly, she launched her finger and pointed into the woods, saying, "We're going to Bale!"

"She said that the King of Basil would know," Zylup said, "about..." After a moment, he used his arms to intimidate wings.

"You do know we have to walk half of the continent just to get there, right?" I replied, eyes on the girl.

"Well," the girl began, "that shouldn't be too much of a job for two sturdy men like you to do, huh?"

"Exactly," Zylup and I muttered.

After glaring at us, she continued, "As for me, I'm used to walking. So no worrying about me!" Zylup and I still glared at her.

After a minute of static, I finally stood up, saying, "Let's go."

After jumping around, the girl exclaimed, "Yeah!"

So Zylup, the girl, and I began walking north. Who knows? Maybe this teamwork thing won't be so bad after all.


	5. Chapter 4: The Legend of Dragoon

Avrin

We walked for what seemed an eternity. I wanted to take a break real badly, but I couldn't. I couldn't face Zylup coming right up to my face and say, "Told ya!!" Eventually, after walking five-hundred miles and killing over one-hundred fiends, we made it to Bale.  
First, I said that I wanted to look around town. (The last time I was here, I went straight to the castle.) Two hours later, Zylup and Enga dragged me to the castle after a couple of shop owners began hitting on me.  
When we got to the castle, I ended up leading Zylup and Enga to the King's throne room. Simple, really. Just go up a set of stairs, more stairs, go around and up one more set of stairs. (The only thing that wasn't so simple was all of the knights blocking our way, asking who we were and where we were going.)  
Now, we stood before a wall. Just behind the wall was the King.  
Zylup and Enga bowed before the almighty wall, but I just took out my gem (rolling it between my index finger and thumb) and asked, "Is this your "stolen jewel"?"  
The King leaned over the wall slightly (enough to see his face). Then, he politely told the giant knight (which I recently discovered that he was a Giganto) to leave the room. The King looked at Zylup and Enga (who were now on their feet), then at me.  
"You've brought friends with you," the King said. (He sounded awfully like a father who's proud that his daughter made friends on her first day of school.)  
"What is it?" I politely demanded, talking about the gem.  
The King tilted his head down and shut his eyes. "That gem comes from a legend that has been told for many years. Two-hundred… No, 11,000 years to be more precise. Shall we start from the beginning?  
"More than 11,200 years ago, there was a magical race of beings that had the knowledge of nature and used magical light that blows out of their back to fly. They are known as Winglies. The Winglies enslaved the Humans and ruled over them, as if they were gods. Then, the leader of the Humans, Emperor Diaz, called upon a special army of humans that used the power of Dragons, or as they were known as Dragoons. These Dragoons called upon their Dragons to fight against the Winglies. There were many battles, but in the end, it was the Dragoons – the Humans – that had won. This is the war that everyone today knows as the Dragon Campaign.  
"Now, the legend from two-hundred years ago is a legend only a few of us know. This includes my fourth great grandfather, King Albert the I.  
"There was a small group of Dragoons, mixed of Humans, Wingly, and Giganto. Among this group was someone that was known as the God of Destruction, or the Moon Child. The Wingly dictator from the Dragon Campaign, known as Melbu Frahma, wanted the Moon Child's powers. As powerful as he was, the group of Dragoons had stopped him and, inevitably, saved the world." The King looked at me. "And now, it seems you too have the power of the Silver Dragon. You are the Moon Dragoon." For a moment, there was silence.  
Suddenly, Zylup blurted out, "Well, uh, that explains the wings."  
BOOM!! There was an explosion from downstairs.  
A knight ran in and shouted, "Your Majesty! We're under attack!" At that moment, the door blew open. It shot the soldier out of the window. There stood two odd people. One was a man with yellow eyes with slit pupils. The other one was a demented-looking girl with a purple-glowing hand.  
"We seek for the girl named Avrin," the girl said, almost emotionless. It looked as though she was staring right through us. Zylup, Enga, and I grabbed the hilt of our weapons.  
"We can settle this the easy way," the guy said in a very deep voice, pupils becoming smaller, "or the hard way."  
"Oh, dear," I heard the King say behind us. "The Assailance?"  
"Hand over the girl," the girl demanded.  
"Uh, Avrin?" Zylup muttered. "Would you mind and use that dragonmajigger?"  
"I don't know how," I said, hesitating.  
"How can you not know?!" Zylup demanded.  
"The last time was a one time thing!" I replied.  
"You tell me," Zylup began arguing with me, "that you save me from getting killed by an insane Giganto and you don't know how-"  
Suddenly, Zylup got hit in the stomach by a giant hammer.  
"Zylup!" I shouted, looking at the guy with the giant hammer, then at Zylup, who putted a little dent in the wall. "You alright?"  
"Oh, yeah," Zylup said sarcastically. "I just got hit with a freakin' giant hammer. I'm just fine!"  
"Excuse me for caring!" I argued back.  
"Guys," Enga said, "we're in the middle of a fight right now."  
While Zylup was struggling to get up, Enga and I were too busy dodging the guy's hammer.  
After a minute or two of dodging, the monotone girl said, "Has, this is taking too long."  
The hammer guy, Has, stopped and looked at the girl and said, "Then finish it, Janet."  
The girl, Janet, solemnly nodded, then raised her glowing hand. The purple glow grew bigger and brighter. The wind began pulling in a spiral towards her hand. Enga and I prepared for the worst. Janet showed her palm towards us to show a symbol forming in the center. Enga and I were capture, staring at the symbol. Suddenly, the symbol disappeared. Janet and Has disappeared. The whole room disappeared. I found myself alone in darkness. I tried to speak, but words couldn't come out of my mouth. Instantly, I saw a faint light. I slowly walked towards this light. My eyes shot wide open.  
Dauna, my old hometown, was on fire. I tried to turn my head away, but I couldn't draw my eyes away from the town. It was too… unbearable.  
I saw a figure running towards me. It was a short figure who kept on falling. I thought she was going to run into me, but no. She ran right through me.  
Instantly, the scene changed. I was inside a burning house, next to two figures, including the one from before. Having a close-up look, I recognized the two figures. One was me when I was four years old, and the other was…  
My mom.

Zylup

Still having a complete body pain, I realized that both Enga and Avrin were stunned.  
"Guys!" I shouted. "What the hell are you guys doing? Snap out of it!"  
"Let's go," the girl, Janet, commanded. As told, the man, Has, obediently walked up to Avrin and got ready to pick her up. That's when I got really pissed off.  
Struggling to get up, I growled, "Don't you even think about touching her!"  
Suddenly, this dragon statue's eye (next to me) began glowing a bright yellow orange. Its eye, which was an orange gem, popped out of the dragon statue's socket and floated before me. My body was surrounded by a typhoon made out of fire. I felt my muscles growing tense. I felt my eyes burning with rage. I grinned, clenching my teeth together as hard as I could. This power I was feeling… I really liked it.  
When the flame typhoon was slowing down, I looked really different. I had fancy-looking armor, a really cool dagger… Heck, I even had those cool-looking wings!  
I looked right at Has, who was surprised for a minute, and said (with a smirk), "You'll have to go through me, first."  
Has was about to accept my challenge, but I already beat him to the first move. I flew right at him, about to strike him with my dagger. Has jumped back to dodge my attack, but I wasn't aiming to stab him. Instead, I shot flame or something at him. He held his hammer up in defense, but I successfully burned his left arm. In anger (he didn't look angry, but I could sense it from him), Has threw his hammer at me, but I swiftly flew out of the way. I lunged my dagger at him, but he blocked it.  
The fight was about to get very intense, but suddenly, Janet intervened, saying, "Has, Jatan has called for us." My eyed opened widely. Has glared at me for a moment before he sat his hammer on his shoulder and began walking away with Janet.  
As they were walking away, I shouted at them, "You're working for Jatan?!"  
"Obviously," Janet said, stopping in her tracks. "The leader of the Assailance is the great Black Flame, Jatan." She looked back at me. "If I can recall, they called you Zylup. Isn't that right? Jatan has talked a lot about you." She turned back, and they left.

Avrin

All in an instant, I snapped back to reality. No fire, no sweat. Just a very white and messy throne room. I looked at Enga.  
"Are you alright, Enga?" I asked him. He was looking somewhere back behind me. I looked too after I saw a light, as bright as the sun, glow behind me. I saw Zylup sweating like a pig, clutching his stomach.  
Taking a few breaths, Zylup slightly chuckled and said, "Heh… Saved your ass, huh?"  
"Another one…" I heard someone say. "I didn't expect one so soon." I looked up, realizing that it was the King.  
"Another one?" I repeated.  
The King nodded and said, "It seems your friend – What was it? Zylup? – has come in contact with the Spirit of the Golden Dragon."  
"You mean-" I began, but the King finished:  
"He is the Sun Dragoon."


	6. Chapter 5: Not Good

**Chapter 5: Not Good**

Zylup

I can't believe this. Hours ago, we left Bale Castle, listening to Avrin of "how cool this journey's going to be" and how she couldn't "believe I missed it when you turned into a dragoon". Now, we're fighting about where to go.

"You're out of your mind, Zylup!" Avrin yelled at me. "We'll be killed if we go that way!"

"I can handle it," I said.

"But I can't!" she said.

"Exactly!" I shouted over my shoulder. (She was six feet behind me with Enga.)

Suddenly, she grabbed me from the back of the collar and began dragging me down the path that she wanted to go.

Yeah, something like usually occurs every now and then.

Anyways, we were going down the path that Avrin chose. We were walking, walking... and walking. Suddenly, a cart randomly rolled out of the woods and stopped in front of us. There was no sign of motion anywhere, except the wind.

Finally, I blurted out, "What the hell?"

Suddenly, someone shouted, "Put your weapons in the cart before you enter the great city of Seles!"

We looked around, trying to see who spoke, until someone jumped down from a tree and landed behind the cart.

She continued, "Or, by law, you're under arrest."

Her hands rested on her hips. In her hands were a pair of tonfas. She was kind of short- about five feet tall.

Wait a minute... I know her from somewhere...

As it finally came to mind, I muttered with utter regret, "Star...?"

Star

I paused as I observed them. Two out of the three were similar to me, especially...

"Zylup!" I cheered.

I jumped over the cart and nearly pounced Zylup just to give him the long-awaited hug that I've waited many years to give him.

"Ooh, I missed you **so** much!" I said, squeezing him harder as I said "so".

"Get off, shrimp!" Zylup growled.

After one more squeeze, I let him go, looking at Enga. "Hey Enga! You're looking sharp, as always."

"What are you doing here, Star?" Enga asked in his usual dark voice.

"Well," I began, putting my hands behind my head, "I found a place to settle, here in Seles. It used to be a poor town, but now it's a functioning town, thanks to some volunteering mechanics."

I heard the girl, who I've completely forgotten about, speak up, "Uh..."

"Oh yeah," Zylup said. He pointed at me, saying, "This is Star- the short and annoying brat."

"Hey!" I yelled at him.

"And this," he pointed at the girl, "is Avrin- one with no sense of direction." Avrin glared at him. "Anyways," Zylup continued, "I'm hungry. I'm just gonna go-" He was about to head into town until I stood in his way, putting my arms up. "Star-" he began.

"Put your weapons in the cart before you enter the town, or, by law, you're under arrest," I stated.

Zylup smirked, continuing to walk around me as he said, "Yeah yeah, that's cute, but I got to-"

"Uh, Zylup..." Avrin warned. She probably saw my face.

Oh, he so asked for it...

"**STAR!**" Zylup yelled at me behind his bars of his jail cell.

Enga and Avrin just looked at me strangely, as if I'm someone who took on a god or something.

"What?" I said, shrugging. "He asked for it." I looked at Zylup, saying, "I'll pick you up in three hours."

Zylup sat there, pouting and cursing at the same time.

"Come on, Avrin!" I said while grabbing her hand. "Looks like you need to take a little rinse." While dragging Avrin away, I told Enga, "Do what you like."

Rinsing her face in the wooden sink, Avrin asked, "So, how do you know Zylup?"

I simply replied, patting my face with a washcloth, "We're cousins."

"Oh, so how about Enga?"

"He lived in my hometown for awhile, but not anymore. Anyways, I've never seen Zylup and Enga that close to one another before. Not once. You must have some big influence on them."

As she dried her face as well, Avrin said, "Well, they weren't really getting along when I first met them, but that doesn't happen a lot lately."

I grinned, saying, "You know, you ain't half bad, Avrin." As I hung up the washcloth and began walking out, I added, "Make sure you find Enga. Zylup and I have to catch up on life."

Zylup

Chewing on a piece of grass that I had saved when leaving Bale, I was laying on my back, staring at the ceiling. I was bored as hell.

Suddenly, I heard an evil chuckle. I looked over and saw Star standing mischievously outside the bars, twirling a pair of keys on her fingers.

"Please tell me you're not here to annoy me," I said without much enthusiasm, looking back up at the ceiling.

"Let's just call this... payback," Star stated, smirking.

"Oh gee, lock me up in a cell just because I wasn't abiding your rules," I said sarcastically. "That's surely a good reason to starve me."

"No," Star said, "this is what you get for ditching me four years ago!"

"Oh, boo-hoo," I continued, "at age eleven, I'm sure you were able to fend for yourself. Plus I had better things to do."

"Better things than not being around?" Star questioned.

"I wasted almost ten years of my life raising you!" I shouted as I sat up, glaring at her. "What more do you want?"

It was silent for several minutes. I figured that I really got to her with what I said. She kept glancing everywhere on the floor. Every time she was going to say something, she held it back.

Finally, she took a key and unlocked the door, muttering, "Whatever..."

As she unlocked it, I stood up and began to leave.

As I was passing her, Star murmured angrily, "I hate you."

I merely sighed, "I know."

I looked around Seles... Of course, with Star right on my tail. Eventually, I found Enga and Avrin in an auction house. They were looking at an item that was a golden necklace with a round indigo blue gem in it.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked with great pain.

"Don't look at me," Avrin said. "It was Enga who had the sudden urge." Right, now let's wait and see if she adds that Enga is going to have a positive attitude.

"Enga," Star popped in, jumping in front of me, "I didn't know you like jewelry, yet alone, bidding."

"No," Enga said, still looking at the jewel. "It's just... a different presence..."

Suddenly, we heard a scream somewhere in the background. We turned around, and behind all the panicking people stood a female with platinum blue hair and Wes.

Star

As soon as I saw what the problem was, I sprinted past Zylup, saying, "'scuse me!" I grabbed the ledge of a building and pulled myself up. Running up the rooftop, I held out my tonfas. When I got to the bell, I hit it as hard as I could with my elbow-lengthed weapons several times. After the final ring, some of the other guards of town assembled outside of the building. I slid down the roof and jumped onto the ground. I lead them into battle.

It was obvious that heading for the big guy was too dangerous, so I charged for the woman first. However, she raised her hand and, before I could hit her, the stone snake on her shoulder came to life. It was about to strike me, but I jumped back-

Just to realize the other gargoyles that surrounded us.

"Oh, that's nice," I murmured.

The gargoyles came charging at my hesitating acquaintances and I. I jumped over one and hit the other one behind it with my tonfas. I kept hitting one after another. Actually, it felt the same way as when I practice with the wooden dummy in my room. I saw that other guards were either becoming injured or killed.

"Ha!" the woman laughed. "This is very amusing."

"Heatshade," the big guy's voice boomed, "we're here for only one reason. "I know," the woman, Heatshade said. "Just go and report to Jatan."

I gagged. That was a name that I never wanted to hear for the rest of my life...

I left myself defenseless. One of the gargoyles attacked me from behind. I fell flat on my face. Before I even had a chance to push myself up, there was already a gargoyle up close, ready to kill me. I winced.

Suddenly, the gargoyle was tackled. I looked up and there was Zylup.

"You really can't take care of yourself, huh?" he questioned as he pulled me up onto my feet.

I was about to make an angry statement, but then I paused just so I could mention, "They... know Jatan."

Zylup grunted, "Another one?" Then, this wasn't his first time encountering someone like Heatshade? Speaking of which...

I looked right at Heatshade, who was becoming very amused. If she knew Jatan, then surely, she was working for him.

Getting out of Zylup's grip, I charged right at Heatshade. Even though she sent gargoyles to stand in my way, I leaped over them, broke them to pieces, or pushed them away. When I closed in, I hit the stone snake's head off with the left tonfa and bashed the right tonfa's flat side right into Heatshade's face. I smirked before looking at my results.

My smile disappeared. The nose was twisted, a tooth was knocked out, a crack was on her chin.

A crack...

My opponent was the one with the last laugh as it crumbled to pieces. It was just a stone statue, like everything else. Since all the other statues weren't alive anymore, I figured that the real Heatshade was gone.

I was able to keep the town safe, but they got away...

We were standing on the border of Seles' entrance. Zylup, Enga, and Avrin were getting ready to leave, so I handed them their weapons.

"Are you guys going to come back and visit sometime?" I asked.

"Probably," Avrin assured.

"With our back luck-" Zylup began, but then Avrin elbowed him in the gut.

"Show some respect, will you?" she told him.

While they were arguing, I thought about what she said. Show me some respect? What did I ever do for Zylup to deserve such a thing? If anything, if it weren't for him, I would most likely be dead.

As they said bye to me, I noticed that the necklace from the auction house was in Enga's pocket. I smirked, slightly chuckling. It looked like Enga changed a little... in a weird way, but nevertheless. Zylup... He hasn't changed at all.

Zylup

As we were walking, Avrin said, "So, you and Star are cousins, huh?"

Fiddling with the straw in my mouth, I replied, "If you mean by blood, then no."

"Huh?" She looked at me curiously.

"We aren't technically cousins," I explained. "When I moved in with Star and her father when I was younger, he insisted that I call him "Uncle". So, the cousin thing stuck."

"Ohh..." Avrin said understandingly.

Suddenly, something jumped onto my back, strangling me, and shouted into my ear, "Piggyback ride!"

God, speak of the devil...

"Hey!" I growled. "Get off, brat!"

Obviously, as one would know, it was Star.

Grinning, Star said, "No way. I'm going with you guys!"

"No!" I argued.

Avrin was laughing at us. Enga wasn't even paying attention.

No one was going to save me. Great...


	7. Chapter 6: Recreation Two Souls

**Chapter 6: Recreation / Two Souls**

Enga

It has been awhile since I've seen Star and her tormenting of Zylup. I found it amusing, yet I tended to be annoyed by all the noise.  
Recently, we had arrived in a city called Lohan, somewhere in southern Serdio. Despite it being a commercial town, it seemed to be slightly more rundown than Seles. We had gotten ourselves rooms in the inn, when...  
"Sweet!" the girl exclaimed.  
"My prayers have been answered!" Star rejoiced.  
"What?" Zylup grouched, being awoken from his nap on the sofa.  
The girl showed us a poster that was advertising a family enjoying their time in a large arena, surrounded by certain events.  
"A festival...?" I mumbled.  
"I'm glad that you made the discovery," Zylup said in, I believe, a sarcastic tone, "now let me sleep!"  
When Zylup turned his back on us to sleep, Star rested her hand on his shoulder and said, "We're going."  
"Good for you," Zylup murmured.  
"You're going too," she stated.  
"Pff," he said, "as if..."  
"Yes if," Star replied as her eyebrow twitched.  
"No, I'm-" Zylup shrieked in pain as Star dug her nails into his shoulder. "Alright! I'll go!"  
"What about you?" the girl asked. It took me a moment to realize that she was talking to me.  
As I shut my eyes, Zylup answered for me, "It's not really his thing."  
"Well, you can just hang out," the girl stated. "You could... rest by a wall, or something."  
After a moment, I sighed, "Fine, I'll go."  
As she walked to the other end of the room, Star commented, "If only Zylup was as convincing as Enga..."  
Zylup cursed under his breath.

"Whoohoo!" Star cheered the next day as we walked into a monstrous tent.  
"If you don't get off of me," Zylup began, "then I'm going back!"  
"Fine, sheesh..." she muttered as she jumped off of Zylup's back.  
The area inside the tent was only a circumference of about fifty yards. To the right were games and boar races. To the left were snacks and tourists.  
Abruptly, Star blurted out, "Alright, let the double-date begin!"  
Zylup and the girl gagged, "What?" Star grabbed Zylup by the arm and dragged him away, exclaiming, "Have fun, you two!" As they disappeared into a crowd, I was left alone with the girl.  
"So," the girl began as she chuckled nervously, "I guess we'll be sitting by a wall, huh?"

Half an hour had passed, and I was resting against the same pole, watching the girl go get her third drink. Slurping through the straw, the girl returned and sat on the ground next to me. Other than the crowd cheering, pigs snorting, and a couple of kids running around, it was decently quiet. Then, we heard a group of people nearby talking about something relevant to us. I motioned my head as a way to tell the girl to listen. Despite my keen senses, I could only pick up some of the words that they had said.  
"The Assailance... destruction... they'll... another Dragon Campaign."  
"Another Dragon Campaign...?" the girl repeated under her breath.  
"That's what I hear," someone close by suddenly said. I looked over to my right to see someone standing there in a position that mocked my own. "But we're really trying to change the world."  
"You're part of the Assailance?" I questioned him, reaching for the hilt of my sword.  
"Whoa! Whoa!" the man said, holding his hands up. "Let's not get on the wrong foot!"  
"You're the one trying to kidnap her?" I continued as the girl stood up, being on guard.  
"That's not my job," he said before holding out his hand. "Name's Leon." I didn't accept his handshake, so he drew his hand back. "... or not."  
"What does the Assailance want with me?" the girl asked.  
"Don't know, don't care," Leon answered. "All I know is that Jatan wants something, and it involves you. Whatever he wants, we get. Capiche?"  
"Why is Zylup's brother doing this?" the girl said.  
"Zylup...?" Leon repeated, apparently searching his memories. "... That name doesn't recall, but I'll be sure to ask about it later." He took out a coin from his pocket and began to play with it. He wasted an amount of time flipping it. Then, a thought had occured to me.  
"It's not your job, huh?" I asked. That was when Leon smirked.  
"No," he answered, "but it's my job to make certain that it carries out." As I drew out my sword, he called, "Princess! Now!" I became confused for a moment at his outburst. I looked over and saw the previous opponent from Indels Castle, Janet. As she flung her hand forward, the coin from Leon's hand brushed past my vision. A symbol was on it, which triggered a jynx on me, causing me to go blind. The spell that Janet had casted paralyzed me.  
"Enga!" the girl exclaimed.  
"Nice work, princess," Leon commented, which I now realized that he had been addressing to Janet.  
"Let's go," I heard Janet say lazily as a panic from the people uproared.  
I heard the struggle between the three, but about two minutes later, when it was silent, I was certain that they had gotten the girl.  
The spells that were casted on me had to have been powerful, for they hadn't worn off yet. After physically standing there, helpless, for about a minute, I heard footsteps approach me.  
"Enga! You alright?" I identified the voice as Star's. The other prescence was Zylup. After more sounds of feet shuffling, Star held something up to my nose, saying, "Here." I figured that it was a body purifier, so I took a sniff. Eventually, my vision had returned to me. As I gained control over my joints, I began to explain to them what had happened.  
"Jatan's dirt-workers again?" Zylup grunted. I looked around until I spotted the nearest exit. Then I headed for it.  
"W-wait!" Star called. "We're going with you!"  
"I'm the fastest out of the three of us. I even got a scent. If I don't go stop them now, I'll lose the scent, and they'll be long gone."  
After a moment, Zylup blurted out, "What are you waiting for? Go!"  
I nodded and ran, following the scent. I noticed that as I ran, my blood was pumping through my heart faster, as though adrenaline had kicked in. A mysterious prescence was what got me to look down at my pocket. The midnight-blue jewel of the necklace that I got from Seles had began to glow.

Avrin

I woke up, just to realize that I was being carried on someone's shoulder. I tried getting up, but pain shot through me. I remembered. The guy, Leon hit me in the stomach really hard before knocking me out from behind.  
"Hey, princess," the person who's shoulder I was on said, "she's waking up."  
"We will get to Gerald soon," the girl next to us said, ignoring the nickname.  
I realized that these two people were Leon and Janet. I also realized that my arms and feet were bound, so making a run for it wasn't exactly the best idea.  
"Great!" Leon cheered. "Soon, he'll be able to teleport her off of me." I took note of the verb that he had said. Suddenly, the path underneath us turned from a dirt brown to a pitch black.  
"W-what the-?" Leon began until he realized that their feet were sinking into the blackness. I looked up and saw Enga standing behind them. His whole attire had completely changed, and he had wings too. Enga was now a Dragoon. Actually, I guess that explains why he bought the necklace from that auction. "Janet, do something!" Leon continued.  
"My arms," Janet began as she had sunk halfway down the darkness, "they won't move."  
By the time that I was face-to-face with the ground, the slicky-black cover had disappeared. I looked up as Enga walked up and unbound my feet and hands.  
"Okay, so you're good," Leon admitted.  
"Leon, get me out of here," Janet demanded lazily.  
"Let me take care of that, princess," Leon said sarcastically. When Enga noticed that I was still in pain, he helped me up on my feet. We began to head back for Lohan, until Leon muttered, "Stupid bitch..."  
Suddenly, Enga snapped. He jerked his hand at Leon's head and began to tug at the hair harshly.  
"While Leon was howling in pain, Enga said hoarsly, "You're going to regret saying that."  
"What the hell-?" Leon began, but he paused as his eyes widened. I saw it, too.  
They say you can see a person's soul through their eyes. My foster father said that I was always eager and had courage. Enga, through his eyes, was someone who was strong, yet sorrowful. However, under his bang, the other half was revealed. His left eye was blood red. It showed that he was eager to kill and was in pursuit of something. Enga had... two personas.  
As Leon continued to express his pain, I hesitantly shouted, "Enga, please stop! Let's just go back to Zylup and Star! Enga, just stop it!" I winced as pain shot through me again, which made Enga pause. Other than Leon's harsh breathing, it was silent.)  
Finally, Enga stood up as he changed back to his normal clothing, saying, "Let's go."

Enga

She never spoke a word on the way back to Lohan. I had gotten myself too carried away, but why? What triggered it to happen? I thought that I had it locked away...  
"So..." the girl finally said, trying to not sound disturbed, "what's the story...?"  
Looking away, I answered, "... I don't want to talk about it."  
"Oh..." the girl merely said. A moment later, she added, "If you ever want to talk about it, let me know..."  
The walk continued to be rather dark until we had arrived in Lohan. We spotted Zylup, who was trying to run away from Star, but failed. When they spotted us, she jumped off of his back and charged right into us.  
"Avrin!" Star exclaimed as she hugged the girl. "If Enga didn't get you any sooner, then Zylup could've hurt me!"  
"Shut up," Zylup muttered as walked up, hitting her on the head.  
"Hey!" Star shouted at him in an irritating tone. However, they didn't continue their bickering when they noticed the girl's gloomy expression. "What's wrong?" Star asked.  
"... Earlier," the girl began, "someone mentioned something about the Assailance causing a second Dragon Campaign." No one said anything as a response. Not even I was sure how to respond to that.  
Finally, Zylup smirked, saying, "Keeping your butt safe while bringing a stop to them? It sounds fun."  
The girl looked up at him before smiling, saying, "Well, what are we waiting for?"  
"Alright!" Star cheered.  
"Let's go then," I suggested.  
"Yeah!" the girl said, nodding.  
"Where to?"


	8. Chapter 7: Mechanic

**Chapter 7: Mechanic**

Star

Okay, now I really wished that I didn't ask "Where to?" because we became totally lost. Even Enga was being helpless. I really thought that Avrin's bruise on her stomach irritated her. Zylup wasn't even telling me to shut up or anything! Personally, I think that it's the end of the world.

I was told that we were in a town called Canosse. (I was asleep on Zylup's back when we had arrived.) It was next to the southern bay of Serdio. Just great. Get ready to get sick, Star.

Carrying a bucket with me, I followed Zylup to the woods so I wouldn't have to throw up on someone's lap again. However, it seemed that Zylup had other plans.

"I hate you-" I exclaimed sorrowfully, but then I interrupted when I ejected my stomach fluids into the bucket.

He brought me to the shore!

"I know," Zylup remarked, grinning.

The ocean had always made me sick ever since I was five. Just one smell of salt water and I end up throwing up everything that I ate in the last twenty-four hours.

"I'm gonna get you for this..." I said between barfs.

"Not in this sorry state that you're in," Zylup said.

"Hey!" someone suddenly shouted at us. "Do that elsewhere!" I looked up and saw a kid standing there with his hands on his hips. He had a monkey wrench in his hand.

Looking dumfounded, I mumbled, "What?"

At first, he appeared as though he was going to outburst at us, but then he paused before muttering, "Please go. The captain of this ship is kind of in a bad mood." I looked behind him and noticed a giant, almost pirate-like ship parked along the shore. I also noticed someone was standing by it as well.

"Raven?" the lady behind the kid called.

"Uh-oh..." the kid murmured before turning around to face the person. "Yes, sis?"

Raven

I wasn't afraid of my sister or anything, it's just... She had been a little bit scary, lately.

As she walked up with her cane (she doesn't need it; it was for decoration), she asked, "Are you disturbing our guests?"

"T-they..." I began, but then I paused for a moment. "... Not at all, Niki."

"... Wait a minute..." the guy with the silver hair said. Apparently, a realization came to him. "You're... Niki Simoné, right?"

"I guess my business is widely known," Niki remarked. "And who might you be?"

"I'm Zylup," the guy said, "and this..." He sighed, glaring at the sick girl with the bucket. "This is Star."

Niki walked over to the girl, Star and held out her potion, saying, "Here, take this. It will calm down your nerves."

"I will," Star began, but paused for a moment. "... when my stomach says so."

We were brought back to the inn, and it just so happens that Zylup and Star's group's rooms were next to ours.

"So," this girl, Avrin said, "you're name's Raven?"

"To me, that's a girl's name," Star muttered.

"Hey!" I yelled that her. "It's my mom's middle name, and if you insult me, you insult her." I wasn't exactly one that was able to stand up for many things, but if it was personal, then I was able to do so.

"Whatever..." Star mumbled, rolling her eyes.

"You only live with your sister?" Avrin asked.

"And a couple of friends," I added. "Ever since our mother died, we began living her dream by sailing over the oceans and creating new merchandise for our business."

"You're an inventor?" she questioned me.

"Heh, no," I admitted as I scratched the back of my head, "I'm only a mechanic. My sister's the inventor. For an example..." I looked at Star, "that potion that you drank? Niki made it for some seasick mates when we were at the great flower city, Donau. A lot of rare herbs are located there, and she used all that was necessary to create it."

Coincidentally, Niki approached us, saying to me, "We'll be boarding the Crusader tomorrow." I nodded, but then she walked past us, entering our room.

I looked at Avrin and Star, asking, "You'll come with us, right?"

"Sure," Avrin answered. "We don't exactly have a specific destination to go to at the moment."

"Also, only if you have any more of those potions of yours," Star added.

"Good," I said, "because... my sister. She hasn't acted like herself lately. She doesn't act how she normally does. Not even around myself or Romeo." I paused when I noticed their confused expressions. "A family member. It... It would just be nice if you could help..."

Avrin crouched down to my level and nodded, saying, "Don't worry. We'll help."

The two guys of their group, Zylup and Enga, got back from... wherever they were.

"Alright, Avrin," Zylup said, holding a bag, "here's the ticket-thingy that you wanted. What's it for, anyways?"

I noticed that Avrin smirked when she said, "See, Star? I told you."

Suddenly, Star changed from her gloomy mood and tackled Zylup, exclaiming, "Yes! I accept!"

"What the hell?" Zylup questioned, trying to push Star off of him. However, Star dragged him down the hallway.

"Have fun!" Avrin called teasingly.

"What? Where?" Zylup shouted before he and Star disappeared.

We stood at the port- Niki, Avrin, Zylup, Enga, Star, and myself. We stood there, waiting for the Crusader to arrive. I thought about what happened the previous night. I woke up sometime at midnight by the argument coming from Zylup and Star outside. I found Niki sitting beside the window. She told me to go back to bed, and that she would as well in a moment. Although, through the last half an hour of being awake, she still sat by the window, looking outside.

"I can't believe that I have to wait five minutes just for the potion to kick in..." I heard Star mumble.

"Here it is," Niki announced. I looked up and what seemed to be a mile away was the Crusader- the most beautiful, yet fastest ship there ever was.

"Whoa..." Avrin breathed.

As soon as the Crusader boarded, someone threw the anchor into the water. When someone brought out the plank as a transport between the dock and the ship, we walked on board.

"Captain!" the whole crew saluted. "Good to see you again!"

"Let's discuss our next destination," Niki merely said bluntly. As she took two more steps, she stopped. "Oh, be sure to make our guests a place to rest." She entered the captain's cabin, followed by a few other of the crewmates.

"I might have found something more bizarre than Star," Zylup mumbled.

"Wait," Avrin said. "Where is Star?"

Star

"I said _help!_" I shrieked loudly.

Okay, really, I can explain. One minute, I was debating with myself whether to go on board or not. The next, I realized that they had pulled the plank board in, so I had to hurry and jump for the ledge before they took off. Suddenly, this evil monkey popped out of nowhere and began slipping my fingers off one at a time. My life was hanging on a moving ship, over the sea, and it was in the hands of a monkey.

After a few more pleads for help, someone finally called, "Hey, Romeo! Quit it!" As small hands picked the monkey up, pulling it away, another pair of hands grabbed my wrists and pulled me up. Safe on the solid surface, I began gasping for air, for I've been through hell and back.

"If you plan on getting on, then do it with everyone else!" my rescuer pointed out.

After my breathing had regulated, I jumped up and tackled him, exclaiming, "Zylup, you saved my life!"

"Get off, squirt!" he shouted, trying to get out of my grip.

As I let him go, I heard the Raven-kid say, "Don't do that, Romeo. That's our new friend."

"That _thing_," I slowly said, pointing at the monkey, "is Romeo?" Raven nodded slowly, having a blunt face. After a moment, I blurted out, "You said it was a family member!"

"He is," Raven remarked.

"Well," I began as an eyebrow twitched, "I guess Romeo and I will be the best of friends." I glared at the monkey with all of my might, hoping that he would receive my threatening message.

"You do realize that you're threatening a monkey, right?" Enga pointed out.

_Yeah… _I thought. _The monkey of pure evil._

When it had become midnight, when the Moon was at its highest point in the sky (ah, who am I kidding? The Moon never moves), I walked out in the salt-filled air, ran over to the ledge, and… Well, you already know about my seasickness.

Suddenly, someone approached me from behind, saying, "You know, if you keep throwing up like that, you'll ending up puking out your guts."

I turned my head, looking like I just came face-to-face with the Grim Reaper, and saw Zylup. He was holding a vial of the Miracle potion, as I call it. I immediately took the potion and drank it. I shuddered as the nasty taste ran down my throat.

"What are you doing out here, anyways?" I grunted, being very cautious. It wasn't like Zylup to just help me like that. "Did you poison it?"

"Nope," Zylup answered, shaking his head.

"Swear it?" I questioned.

He lazily saluted, saying, "I swear it."

All right, now something was definitely wrong with this picture. Zylup was being nice. What was he up to…?

"Night!" he said as he walked back to the cabin.

After a minute of silence, I thought, _Did he bring something on board from last night?_ I shrugged as I headed for the cabin as well.

While walking back to Zylup's room, which was where I was also staying at, I noticed that a plain white blanket sat just outside the door. As I approached it, I noticed that it was vaguely familiar. My mind clicked as I realized that it was my blanket. Zylup kicked me out. I was about to shout angrily at the door, but someone covered up my mouth.

While struggling to set myself free, the person whispered harshly into my ear, "Shh! Listen!"

After calming myself down, I turned around, realizing that it was Zylup. He had a serious expression on his face. He held a finger up, telling me to keep quiet. Despite wanting to argue with him, I did what he said. Slowly, he approached a door down the hall, which led to the captain's cabin. I followed him to the side of the door, which was slightly ajar. I saw a glimpse of Niki Simoné, and she seemed to be talking to herself.

"Just… leave me alone," she said. "This is my ship, my body, and my mind. You have no right to take control of any of my possessions!" A pause came. "What? Transporting? You mean… You're holding prisoners on my ship?" Another pause came. Then, she looked over at the door and spotted. "… N-no!"

Suddenly, a voice behind us commanded, "Now, kill them."

Raven

I immediately woke up when I heard a thump. It sounded as though there was a fight happening on deck. I hoped that it wasn't a raid, because that would be very bad. Despite that, I slid my hat and shoes on, grabbed my iron rod, and ran up to the deck.

As soon as I opened the door, my eyes widened at the scene. Niki was attacking Star and Zylup with her rapier.

"Niki…" I breathed, losing all belief that Niki was still there.

"Those two will soon be disposed of," someone suddenly said next to me. As I jumped, I looked up and saw a lady with black hair and violet eyes. "Then we will continue our voyage to our next destination." I stared at her, then back at Niki. I had realized that Niki's eyes were glowing a violet color as well.

Looking back at the lady, I asked, "Are you… controlling my sister?" She didn't answer, but I knew that it was a definite yes. "Leave Niki alone!" I demanded, but then someone grabbed me from behind, picking me up a few inches off of the ground. As I waved my arms and legs, attempting to get out of their grasp, I looked back to see another lady in a lavender dress.

"Quit the irritating chap, aren't you?" she asked, having a smug look on her face. She looked at the black-haired lady, saying, "Can I dispose of him too, Janet?"

I immediately noticed the trouble that I was in. I still tried to swing my way out of her grip, but to no avail.

"Hey kid!" someone suddenly called. We looked up and saw that it was Zylup, who was cleverly multi-tasking, blocking Niki's attacks while keeping his attention on us. "What are you doing?"

I didn't really know how to answer him, so when I noticed that the two ladies' attentions were on him, I brought my feet up and kicked the dress lady to get out of her grip. I collided with Janet, but I stumbled back, successfully getting away from the two. I must have interrupted her concentration, for her irises faded to yellow. After a thud, I looked back and saw that Niki had collapsed. I ran over to her to see if she was all right.

"Tch, damn brat," the other lady said.

"Heatshade," Janet suddenly said. "Jatan has called for us."

Sighing, Heatshade stated, "He's always calling us away. Does he want the girl or not?" As Zylup and Star appeared to get ready to attack them, she asked, "Explain to me how we are going to get off the ship."

"Gerald will be here in five seconds," Janet explained, "so we jump."

As Zylup went ahead and advanced on them, the two ran and jumped off the side of the ship. Thinking they were crazy, I ran over to the ledge along with Zylup to look over, but they were gone.

"Here we are," Niki stated, "the country of Tiberoa." We were in the Aquaria Coral Reef, parked at a port near the town Fetta. "Again, I'm sorry for all of the trouble that I've caused you."

"Despite what happened," Avrin began, "it was worth the ride… I guess." Yes, they didn't necessarily need to ride a ship to a neighboring country, but at least it had saved them some energy.

"You're just saying that because you were sleeping while we did all of the work," Zylup mumbled.

Before they began to walk away, Niki whispered to me, "Go with them."

I looked up at her as my eyes widened. "W-what?"

"What is the one thing that you want to do?" she asked me.

After a moment, I answered, "I want to get stronger."

"And you can do so by assisting them on their journey," Niki remarked.

"B-but what if those people come back?" I asked. "What if they brainwash you again?"

Chuckling, she explained, "I highly doubt that. They only did so because they wanted them. I have a feeling that they'll still follow their trail." Bending down to my level, she sat a hand on my head and smiled as she said, "Besides, I'm your older sister. I'm the boss of you, and you have to listen to what I say."

Despite not wanting to leave her, I really did believe that going with Avrin and the others would help me in becoming stronger, so I can keep Niki safe. Grinning back, I said, "Alright, boss!"

**

* * *

End of Book 1.**


	9. Chapter 8: Heavy Burden

**Beginning of Book 2.**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 8: Heavy Burden**

Star

Seriously, I had no idea where we were, except the fact that we were in the country of Tiberoa. We're literally walking in the middle of nowhere. We could have stayed back in Fetta to ask for directions, but with the Assailance after us, we couldn't afford risks. At least, that's what Enga said.

"Zylup!" I whined. "I'm hungry!"

"Do you want me to pull food out of my ass?" Zylup shouted. "Quit your whining!" I pouted, crossing my arms.

"We'll get somewhere," Avrin reassured, "soon."

I muttered, "Eventually, you mean."

I must have passed out, because when I woke up, I was being carried on Zylup's back. Though, it was slightly difficult to notice, as it was nighttime, and the only light source came from the Moon. It was rather silent, too, except a slight shake of the ground and our footsteps…

Wait, what?

We all stopped as we felt the ground shake. It came to my notice that we were in a canyon of some sort as I looked up. Almost instantly, a boulder crashed down in front of Zylup and I, nearly crushing us.

"Dammit!" Zylup grunted. Another boulder fell nearby Avrin and Raven, but Enga pushed them out of the way. It was like being in a meteor shower, only it was coming to kill us. I jumped off of Zylup's back, knowing that I was only slowing him down. Besides, out of the whole group, I was the second fastest. Unfortunately, I just wasn't the one with really good attention spans.

"Star!" Zylup shouted. At first, I thought that he was going to blame me for making it rain unfortunate events on us, but then as I ran, I saw two pebbles drop in front of me. I did the wrong thing and froze. Looking up, I winced as I saw a boulder ready to crush me head-to-toe.

"Dammit, Star!" Zylup ran and pushed me out of the way. Landing on my face, the "rock shower" had stopped. "Star," Zylup winced, "I'm gonna kill you." Pushing myself off of the ground, I looked at him and realized that the boulder had pushed one of his legs.

"Guys?" I hesitantly called. "Guys?"

They others ran over after a minute of searching for us through the boulder mess that sprawled everywhere.

"Crap…" Raven said. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Zylup said sarcastically, cringing, "I'm just relaxing _under this rock!_ What do you think?"

"I was just asking," Raven muttered.

"Just get me out of here," Zylup said as he sat his head up with his arm.

I watched as Avrin and Enga were trying to push the rock off, with Zylup complaining about the pain every now and then. I wanted to help, but I was frozen. As always, Zylup risked his life to save mine, but he has to suffer the consequences.

Gritting my teeth, I got up and ran away.

Avrin

I was trying to assist Enga in pushing the boulder off when I saw Star run off.

"Star!" I called, slightly walking after her. "Wait!"

"Just let her go," Zylup said. "Let her have her girl moment." I stopped and looked down at him. He glared at me, continuing, "I would really like to see how my leg is doing. You know, make sure it's not severed and all." Despite Zylup's rude behavior, I kept my faith that Star would come back and resumed helping Enga.

After five minutes of our attempts, and the boulder not moving from its spot, I questioned Zylup, "How did you leg get pinned down, anyways? It's not like you to—"

"It was that airhead," Zylup stated, staring down at the ground angrily. "It could've been her under this rock instead of my leg, but no. She had to get on my nerves and make me push her out of the way." I never recalled Star shouting for help in the first place, so I didn't really understand his answer.

"You always speak so low of her," I said, "yet, why do you still help her to this extent?" All Zylup did was stare at the ground for a whole minute.

Finally, not moving his eyes away from the ground, Zylup answered, "She's been my only family ever since… when Jatan killed her father."

_I was walking in the woods, studying what my new family was going to be like. Star and her father were walking back home, carrying all sorts of food. Star was carrying what she thought was grass, even though it was only grass._

_"Daddy!" the two-year-old girl called, holding up a piece of grass. "Will Zillup like these?"_

_Her father laughed, saying, "It's Zylup, sweetie, and I'm not too sure whether or not he'll like grass. Before you ask me again, tell me, why are you so concerned?"_

_Star grinned brightly and replied, "'Cause, I want to be his best friend!"_

_"You will," her father assured, petting her hair._

_Suddenly, someone behind them said, "Do my ears deceive me, or do you know my little brother?" I instantly recognized him as Jatan before the other two turned around._

_Star's father gagged, "J-Jatan?" He hovered his arm in front of Star, as though it would protect her. "The council has sentenced you to death row! What are you doing here?"_

_"Just because I'm sentenced," Jatan explained, "it doesn't mean that I'll be there."_

_"You've killed over one-hundred beings in the past three weeks," Star's father stated. "You must stop this charade now!"_

_"Now, now, you wouldn't mind if I added two more to the counting, would you?" Jatan said, ignoring the man's demand._

_"Daddy?" Star spoke, her voice shaking. As Jatan raised his hand slowly, Star was pushed out of the way by her father. I froze as I saw him being engulfed by black flames._

_"Daddy?" Star cried. She immediately crawled up to the motionless body, yet staying cautious of the flames. "Daddy! Daddy!" Star kept on repeating the man's title as tears streamed down her cheeks. Eventually, the body had deteriorated, disappearing along with the flames._

_"Now then…" Jatan began, raising his hand at the fearful and helpless child._

_That's when I snapped. I sprinted out in the open, standing between the two. I held my arms out and faced Jatan. I stared at him angrily for what seemed forever._

_Finally, Jatan gave me a simple "hmph" before turning around. A black portal appeared in front of him. He entered it and gave me a look before vanishing along with the portal, leaving Star and I alone._

_I brought my arms back down to my sides as I looked back at Star. She looked horrible from all of her mourning._

_"… You okay?" I asked her hesitantly. It was the first time that I met her, and of all circumstances, as well._

_Instantly, Star wrapped her arms around my waist, crying, "Daddy! He's gone! He's gone!" I slightly jumped at her sudden action, but I didn't move when I noticed how extreme her body was shaking. Her whole face was soaked with tears, and her eyes were red from crying so much. Trying to comfort her, I slowly hugged her head._

_"I'll get him back for this," I whispered, mostly to myself. "I swear it."_

"… and I ended up raising her," Zylup finished, "feeding her, cleaning her clothes, stuff that her father could've done so easily." I closed my eyes, imagining what it must have been like.

Opening my eyes back up, I began to say, "Hey, Raven. How long has your sister-?" However, when I turned to face a little boy, I ended up facing a field of boulders. "Where's Raven?"

"He went after Star," Enga answered.

I turned to face him, saying, "What?" It's one thing that Raven chased Star without a notice. What was worse was that Enga – and only Enga – knew, and he didn't say a word.

Suddenly, Enga froze, sniffing the air. Before I came to the conclusion that he was avoiding his guilt, he stated, "The Assailance is here."

"The Assailance?" I repeated. As Zylup mumbled a sarcastic remark, I asked, "Are you sure?"

Sniffing the air as the wind blew, Enga looked out in the distance, saying, "I know that scum when I smell him." I looked out where Enga was looking, which was the general direction that Star went.

Star

Sitting under an arch-shaped part of the canyon, I was wiping as much tears as I could from my eyes. I was being a pansy. I must certainly look pathetic.

"Hey, are you okay?"

I slightly jumped at the question. At first, I was going to simply blow it off as my conscience talking, but then I looked up and saw Raven standing there.

I wiped my eyes with the back of my hands one more time before answering, "Yeah." Raven went ahead and sat next to me. Silence settled in. After a moment, I asked, "What did you want?"

"Oh, uh," Raven began, "I just came to see if you needed any help in cheering up." When I didn't respond, a thought occurred to him as he reached into his pocket. "Here," he said, holding up an orb in his palm. It was a puce-colored gem with a slightly darker core. "I found it a few years back, in Mille Seseau. I have a hunch that you'll like it."

After staring at the gem for another moment, I took it into my own hand as I joked, "I'll have to be wary about you when you hit puberty."

Looking embarrassed, Raven corrected, "Just think of it as an apology gift from Romeo, then."

I chuckled, saying, "That, I will." Looking back down at the gem, I added, "Thanks, kid."

"How touching," someone said out of the blue. Raven and I shot our eyes at the newcomer. I recognized him as the guy that had previously abducted Avrin, Leon.

"Oh brother," I muttered. "They send the sissy one."

"Hey!" Leon shouted. "I heard that!" I rolled my eyes. "Anyways," he continued, "I heard that a little incident happened, and—"

"Wait," I interrupted. "You did that!" It was no question.

Leon raised his hands and proclaimed, "You caught me red-handed. Though, I have to admit, I might have overdone it." I was about to go reach for my tonfas when Leon said, "Uh-uh-uhh…" Instantly, he flicked a card at us and we saw an odd symbol on it. Whatever it was, it wouldn't let our bodies move. While we were struggling to regain control of our bodies, Leon held one more card in his hand, saying, "You probably won't like this next move. Unless you love your puny lives, I'd best surrender and tell where that girl is."

I grunted, "What's so special about Avrin that you have to kidnap her?"

"Like I stated to the one-eyed freak before, I have no clue," Leon explained before he grinned. "However, if Jatan wants her so badly, then it must certainly be important."

Alright, leather-shirt boy had officially gotten on my nerves. He's threatening to kill us if we don't tell him where Avrin was. Okay, simple, right? Keep our lives if we turn in Avrin? However, as much as I love my endangered life, I'm not the kind that sacrifices other people's lives just for my own.

Before I had the chance to tell him that, Leon threw the card at the space between our heads. Raven gasped, so it most likely cut into the rocky surface closer to his head. Unfortunately, the exposure of the card faced me. I immediately shut my right eye, being very cautious to not set off our fate.

Leon walked up to the side Raven was on, saying, "I had to take a precaution, just in case you did something stupid, like reject my offer." He bent down, looking at Raven. "Unless you really want to see something that can really "blow" your mind, I'd start talking now."

I had absolutely no clue as to what to do now. We're trapped. That's all there is to it. Even Leon's crappy jokes were getting me.

He shuffled his feet, moving closer to my side. "You know, you aren't the only one that can set it off. Just anyone can look at it, and BAM! You're finished." I noticed that he was talking to me. "Whaddya say, girly? Spill the info, or watch you and the kid's brains blow up?"

I grunted, ready to make a comeback, until Raven blurted out, "She went to Donau… to get help."

I saw Leon look to the left of me at the horizon, muttering, "Donau, huh?" He looked back at Raven and patted his head, saying, "Thanks, kid. That wasn't so bad, was it?" As he stood up, he thought for a moment. "You know, when I think about it, all life in this world are going to be eliminated anyways, so why not end it for you, here and now?"

I shouted angrily, "You… You bastard!"

"Oh, you give me too much credit," Leon sighed. As Leon got ready to face the card, Raven winced.

"You… jerk…" I growled. Suddenly, I felt unbelievable power growing from my hand. I instantly remembered that it was the same hand that was holding the gem that Raven gave me. I also remembered that this was the same power that Enga, Avrin, and Zylup hold.

"Bomb voyage," Leon said, making it sound like the greatest joke ever. Although, when he finally looked at the picture of dynamites on the card, nothing happened. "What?" he said, sounding very confused. He shot his eyes at me and gagged.

I had new armor on. I had pretty sharp wings. Like the other three, I was a Dragoon.

I figured that my specialty was gravity or something, because I created a small sphere, with the card in it, and it had not one trace of air in it. I'm sure, for it didn't blow up. No gravity, no air. No air, no boom.

"Another one?" Leon said, sounding very shocked. I looked directly at him. I supposed that my transformation had cured me of my paralyzed-state, for I swiftly flung my hand at him, pushing him and the card back by about twenty yards or so. As I stood up, I walked out from under the arch. Leon must have accidentally looked at the card because I heard a curse come from him before an explosion occurred from his spot. After a moment, smoke settled in the explosion's place. When the smoke faded, I saw Leon had survived (he must have pulled a last-minute jinx), but he was clutching his stomach.

"Damn," he breathed heavily, "that hurt."

"There's more where that came from!" I declared.

Leon scratched his nose and smirked, saying, "Bring it on."

We stood there, glaring at each other waiting for someone to make the first move.

Suddenly, Leon paused. He looked out into space for a moment.

Snapping out of it, Leon said, "Sorry, but the princess has called me. I gotta go do her biddings." Rolling his eyes, Leon walked away. He walked out of a fight. Just like that.

"Hey!" I called angrily. "Get back here!" He paid no mind to me until, eventually, he was out of sight. Despite my anger, I had other things to take care of.

Walking back to the paralyzed child, I grinned and said, "Again, thanks."

As I changed back and began to look for a body purifier, I realized something about the Assailance. Other than the fact that they run away from all of our battles, they also are not afraid to kill. Whether it be a giant, strong man, or a puny, innocent child, they don't flinch one bit. They just end that life. That's the same trait of their leader, the one who had ruined my life.

Avrin

While waiting for Enga to come back with Star and Raven, I stood guard for Zylup. I was trying to demand more of their life, but Zylup kept avoiding those demands.

Finally, I saw the three return. They all appeared to be okay.

"Was it the Assailance?" I asked.

Nodding, Enga explained, "They said it was only Leon." However, he said it as though he already knew himself. Maybe that's what he meant when he smelled "that scum".

"Man, did I sure kick his butt," Star bragged. "First, I made him take a taste of his own medicine. Then, before I could knock the crap out of him, he ran away!"

"Poor girl," Zylup's sarcastic tone continued, "she's in terminal denial."

"No, really," Raven began, "she changed into—" Instantly, Star covered his mouth.

"Quite being rude, Zylup," Star said in a playful tune, "or I won't let you out." She was grinning. What mischief was she up to?

Zylup snorted, saying, "Ha! You're too weak to even move a pebble."

Finally, we understand what Raven meant when he said "changed". She transformed into a Dragoon! … Oh, I get it. She's showing it off. That means she just recently got it. Slowly, Star surrounded the boulder with a sphere and slowly began to raise it.

However, it seemed that Zylup didn't notice her transformation or the movement of the boulder, for he said, "My leg's still waiting to be rescued, guys."

"I'm working on it," Star muttered, raising the boulder by a couple of inches.

Zylup's attention span must have been off or something, because he continued, "If you all were doing it, then I would at least feel it move."

Star suddenly got mad, because she slammed the boulder back down as hard as she could and shouted, "I'm already doing it, dammit!" That certainly got Zylup's attention.

Zylup yelped in pain, "What the—?" He finally saw Star in her Dragoon attire. Despite seeing her as one for the first time, he appeared to be unimpressed as he muttered, "Alright, lift it off, then."

"What?" Star questioned in an aggravated tone.

"Lifteth," Zylup repeated in an odd way, glaring at her, "the rocketh."

"Say please," Star demanded.

After a moment, with the help of Star's "motivation", Zylup said, "… please."


	10. Chapter 9: What Happened

Chapter 9: What Happened

Zylup

We realized that Raven lied to Leon about us going to Donau. Since Star and Raven figured out where Donau was, courtesy of Leon, I suggested that we walked the opposite way. From where ever direction, we could either end up in Handen, or back in Fetta. After walking for quite a long while, it turned out that we ended up in Handen. Unfortunately, for Star, it's near the ocean.

"Why m—" Star whined, but she soon covered her mouth. After a shudder, Star continued weakly, "Why me?"

"Because," I began, enjoying the torture, "you nearly unattached my leg."

"I said I was sor—" Star begged, but covered her mouth again. Before, when Star had finally removed the boulder off of my leg, Avrin used her Dragoon's specialty to cure my leg. Thankfully, it wasn't unattached. My leg continued to sting, but I was able to walk.

"Do you have any more herbs, Raven?" Avrin asked.

"Unfortunately, no," Raven answered. "They're all back at the Crusader."

"No Miracle potion!" Star whined.

I grinned, stating, "Yeah, that's what you get!"

"Hey, Enga," Avrin began, "you lived in the same town with Zylup and Star, right? Where was it?"

It was silent. Enga refused to answer her, as did I. However…

"Oh! We're from the Fo—"

With haste, I clamped my hand on Star's big mouth. She struggled for a moment before freeing herself, exclaiming, "Hey! What was that for?"

"Zylup…?" Avrin said questioningly. As I looked at her, I saw the most concerned, yet confused look on her face. By her side, Raven had a similar look.

Suddenly, Star gasped, asking, "You mean… she don't know?"

"Know what?" Avrin questioned me. Keeping my eyes to the ground, I went on ahead without them.

* * *

"You mean this whole time, she didn't know!" Star exclaimed in my face. Shortly after the previous event, we rented a night at the inn in Handen. Star wanted to have a chat with me, so we went to an alleyway in a part of town with the least amount of activity.

"Sorry," I muttered, "it just happened so fast. It only seemed like five minutes ago that I saved her from a man-eating weirdo, back in Serdio."

"That's still no excuse!" Star shouted. "Now we're not sure whether or not she'll be okay with the fact that we're…" She paused, looked around, then whispered, "Winglies." Yes, we're Winglies. The most populated race in Endiness. The most hated race to Humans.

Keeping my gaze away from her, I repeated under my breath, "Sorry…"

Star shook her head hesitantly, saying calmly, "I didn't mean… Look, maybe if it's okay with her, then—"

"It'd be best to not tell her at all," I suggested.

"Why?" Star argued. "Are you ashamed of what you are? Are you scared of being a Wingly?"

"No, nothing like that," I answered. "It's just the kind of Winglies that Humans think that we are is what keeps me down."

"And…?" Star continued.

"Do you remember what Ancestor Zarich said?" I stated. "That we, Winglies, are in hiding because of the Humans?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with Avrin?" she asked.

"Nothing, and I would like to keep it that way," I responded, my voice much more stern.

Star tried to speak, but no reply came to mind easily. "But… Well… erm… Quit making excuses! You're such a jerk, you know!" Right at that moment, she walked past me, presumably returning to the inn.

I felt a drop on my head. Looking up, I saw that the dawn sky was coated with heavy rainclouds. Another drop went into my eye. Individual raindrops kept falling on me slowly until, gradually, it really started pouring. After another couple of raindrops fell on my clothes and skin, I decided to go back to the inn as well.

Avrin

It was already evening, but five minutes ago, it felt like morning. It had been raining hard ever since yesterday, when we first arrived. If it would continue, a flood would be possible.

"Alright," Star said, determination in her voice, "first, we get some food. Then, we get out of this godforsaken town!" Thanks to the fact that it was raining so hard, the rain took over the sea salt-filled air. Star was planning on leaving before the rain begins to cease. That was why she was in such a positive mood.

While Zylup began to argue with Star, I entered into a deep thought. I hadn't forgotten the day before, when he had behaved strangely regarding where they were from. Knowing him, Zylup would avoid the topic from then onward.

I realized that Enga was trying to get my attention when he called my name for the second time. "Are you okay?"

Smiling, I gave a nod, replying, "Yeah."

"Come on, kid," Star said, grabbing Raven by the wrist. "We're getting some food!"

As the energetic girl began to drag him off, Raven pleaded, "B-but I don't have any money!"

While they disappeared into the crowd, Raven still pleading for help, something had popped into my mind.

"Oh yeah!" I exclaimed before I abruptly searched Zylup's pockets.

"What the hell are you doing!" Zylup demanded, unsure of what to do. Finally, with triumph displayed on my face, I pulled out what I was looking for; the Trilet. I had nearly forgotten about it, but a bond isn't something that you can forget easily.

"My turn to hold it," I declared.

"You still had that?" Enga muttered. If he was one to show off his emotions easily, he would have most likely laughed at Zylup. Our hot-tempered friend gagged, trying to find something to say, while I examined the Trilet.

"You know," I remarked, "it's a little flat. Probably from back at the canyons, maybe."

After a moment, Zylup asked, "Hey, uh, Avrin?" Looking up at him, giving him my attention, he continued, "Why do you travel… hang out with us?"

"I don't know," I admitted, turning around to look up at the raining sky. "Maybe, just like how you are with Star, you all are like my own little family. I thought that I would be alright after I left my foster family, but after meeting you two, I can't imagine how I could have made it otherwise."

"Why did you leave?" he continued to ask.

Looking back down at the Trilet, I explained, "I left to start my journey. After my parents died, I wanted to know why. My foster father gave me an excuse, but I wasn't satisfied with it. I was four at the time. I wanted to figure out the answers for myself."

"What did your foster father say?" Zylup questioned me.

"He said that it was a group of Winglies that was responsible," I answered, "but that explanation didn't seem right to me. I mean, what did my family do to deserve such a thing, right?" It was silent for a moment before I noticed that Zylup wasn't going to respond. "Zylup?"

"… New question," he said, having a different expression on his face. "Why the hell are you wearing a dress in the rain?"

Instantly, I blushed, having the sudden need to cover myself up. Putting the Trilet away, I stuttered, "W-why are you asking, you perv?"

Standing up for himself, Zylup blurted back, "What? It was just a question! Sheesh!"

"They're always attacking everything, everywhere we go!" Star's voice suddenly shouted. Breaking from our conversation, Zylup and I noticed a usual scene of citizens scattered about, screaming. Running towards us was Star and Raven, who seemed frantic.

"It's the Assailance!" Raven exclaimed. Behind them, showing up shortly afterward, we saw Has. He stood with a man that had some facial hair to compliment his calm stature.

"Is this them?" the unknown man asked.

"Yes," Has said. "You know what you must do."

The new person looked directly at us. However, in the blink of an eye, he vanished. We froze.

"I am Gerald the Teleporter," the man said, suddenly behind us, "and I have been assigned to test out your skills."

Zylup

Enga and I were the first ones to draw out our weapons. Instantly, the man hit us both back with his fists. I fell on Raven while Enga fell on Star. Avrin was the only one standing up to Gerald.

Looking down at her, Gerald stated, "Ah, so you're the one with the heart that Purifies the Monster. Yes, I can sense it of you."

"What?" Avrin said, keeping on her guard.

As I struggled to get up, Gerald disappeared again. Before I could recognize him, Gerald plummeted onto my back with his elbow. Pain struck through me, making me give up with getting up for a second. Gerald vanished, making Enga be on guard. With haste, he stood up and swung his sword behind him, since it would seem likely that Gerald would appear there. With luck, the teleporting bastard jumped back in time.

"I have been warned of your keen senses and speed," Gerald stated, "so I would most likely have to deal with you first." Enga lunged his sword at him, but the man disappeared again, only to appear behind him. Instantly, Gerald kicked Enga in the back before appearing in front of him, sweeping his legs. As Enga fell down, Gerald appeared in front of Star, kneeing her in the stomach. As a grunt of pain escaped from Star, Gerald was already at Raven, right-hooking the boy in the face. By the time I was able to get up on my feet, I froze. He was already behind me. I attempted to leg-sweep him, but Gerald easily dodged. Without warning, he grabbed me by the neck.

Before I was certain that I was going to die, I saw something glow. Struggling, I saw that all of the Dragoon crystals were shining. Despite being in pain, I grinned. I almost forgot that we were Dragoons.

"Watch your back, buddy," I weakly remarked. As Gerald looked back, Enga, already in Dragoon form, dashed towards him. Before he had a chance to attack, Gerald vanished, relieving me from his grasp. After I regained control of my breath, I changed into a Dragoon, along with Avrin and Star. Spotting Gerald on the roof, Star flew up and used her tonfas to push him off with very strong pressure. Avrin wrapped her kusari-gama around Gerald's leg before he had a chance to react. Before I could strike him with my dagger, Gerald teleported once again. When he reappeared, he stood next to Has. I was confused as to why he abruptly stopped fighting, until I noticed that a cut on his shoulder began to seep blood. It was probably from me.

"Analyzing is complete," Gerald reported to Has. Turning around, he addressed to us, "Improve for when we have our final showdown." Without a moment to think of what he said, the two men disappeared. We waited for a moment for any sneak attacks, but none came. They were gone.

* * *

After we all changed back, Star pouted, "Ooh! They always run off! Stupid, good-for-nothing—" However, she paused when Enga told her to stop. We all looked at Avrin, who seemed out of it.

"Heart that…" she began, "Purifies the Monster?" Looking up at us, she continued, "I've had enough of this. They continue to toy with us, as though they're stalling us. What about me? What do they want of me? I'm no different from any of you, so why me?" Clenching her fists, she added, "The next time we encounter them, I'm getting answers."


End file.
